Monthly Archives: September 2014

With the early season transfer window officially closed last weekend, we Man Utd fans are now faced with one seriously complex question:

“What would the Best Man Utd Starting 11 look like?”

One of the premium strikers joining Man Utd on loan at the tail end of the transfer window deadline was Rademel Falcao. With the Colombian on board, how would LVG manage his side on his preferred 3-5-2 formation? Would one of Rooney or RVP have to be sacrificed to accommodate Falcao? Or would Rooney play in a slightly more deeper role now? Or does LVG just abandon the 3-5-2 and slot in a 4-3-3 to allow his trident of star strikers to wreak havoc week in week out in the BPL?

I’m sure many Man Uts fans would have their own preferred first 11. Here is my ideal first 11 for Man Utd this season:

I stuck with a 3-4-1-2, slotting in Rooney in the ‘hole’ behind RVP and Falcao. Mata would provide the creativity as the attacking MF whilst Hererra would be the holding MF. History shows Man Utd also does well with wide-men and I would pick Di Maria and Valencia to light up both left and right sidelines respectively. In defence, I picked Blind to cover the central defender’s role. whilst many people may have only seen him as a left-back in the World Cup, his profile actually shows he is equally adept in covering the middle. His lack of pace also seems to concur with my pick to slot him in the heart of our defence. Both LB and RB, Rojo and Jones are perfect fits in those areas and their speed and courage to push forward makes this line-up a very offensive-minded one.

But of course, in the CURRENT scenario where Man Utd is beset with numerous injuries, I thought I should come up with a short-term first 11 based on the available players, so here it is:

Formation is still a 3-4-1-2. Only difference here is Blind slotted into the defensive midfielder role behind Mata. In defense, Evans would have to stay more consistent as he is given the CB role.

Many people may be talking about big signings like Di Maria and Falcao but personally, I felt that Daley Blind would be one of the best buys of Man Utd this season. A bit of an unknown (until the World Cup commenced), Blind is one of those versatile players who can play in numerous positions which would prove very useful in the current scenario where there are many injuries. His style of play is even a fit for the holding midfielder role!

I also tinkered about the possibility of a What-If scenario for LVG should he decide to stick with his 3-5-2 formation. In this formation, my favoured first 11 would look like this:

I would pick both RVP and Falcao up front because they are technically better finishers compared with Rooney. The important man in the ‘hole’ behind the strikers is a toss up between Rooney and Mata. In this formation, one of these two would have to be sacrificed. Valencia and Di Maria are the natural wingers whilst LVG could then utilise the speeds of both Rojo and Jones as wing backs! The back-3 would have to be players who don’t usually forage up front too often, so I would pick Shaw, Smalling and Evans here. Not sure how Hererra might fit into a 3-5-2 this way though. Hmmmm.

…which led me to another alternative formation, a 4-4-2 as follows:

Under this formation, Hererra would be able to support Mata in their favoured positions in the middle. Rooney would get to play his favoured role in the hole. Only problem В here is either RVP or Falcao needs to be sacrificed up front. Another change here is the back four where Rojo and Blind have been slotted in CB roles, which both have played before. Shaw and Jones make up the defensive backs.

With all being said, I’m just excited to see how LVG rolls out the brand-new look of Man Utd next wekeend! рџЂ